We did it with your votes! THANK YOU to everyone who shopped at REI stores last month and helped CPC and MTB Atlanta win the voting competition to raise funds for our national park. Specifically, we will work with the National Park Service, MTB and professional trail planners to improve the shared use trails in the Sope Creek/Cochran Shoals Units of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area.

New signage will guide hikers, runners and bikers to use the trails safely and respectfully, while machine trail maintenance will improve alignment and reduce erosion. The total amount of our REI grant award will be announced in May. CPC is continuing to seek funds for the Sope/Cochran Trail Improvement Project with a goal of raising $50,000. Your contribution in any amount will help us reach this goal. Please make a donation here. Thank you!

Record-Setting Sweep the Hooch

On April 6, nearly 1,200 volunteers removed thirty-two tons of trash from the Chattahoochee River and adjacent park lands during the 9th Annual Sweep the Hooch Cleanup organized by Chattahoochee Riverkeeper and the National Park Service. CPC was a sponsor of the successful event, again tackling trash in the Whitewater area of the East Palisades Unit (and nearby islands) with our volunteers.

We’re especially proud of CPC board member Phillip Hodges who was determined to get half of a canoe, buried in dirt and vegetation on an island and pinned by a fallen tree. With a little help, he accomplished his goal, set a year ago, when he and wife Cathy removed the other half of the canoe.

Take More than Selfies in the Park

Who doesn’t love nature photography? On Saturday, May 4 (9-5pm), you can learn how to up your game during a workshop in the national park with our favorite nature photographer Tom Wilson. The $50 fee for the full-day session includes a one-year CPC membership; all proceeds will benefit our efforts to support the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area. For details and registration, go here.

Official Partner of America's Parks: National Park Foundation

For more than fifty years, the National Park Foundation (NPF) has directly supported programs in our national parks to protect them, connect more people to them, increase access for all, and inspire a love of parks to a new generation. NPF and the National Park Service will lead the celebration of National Park Week from April 20-28. Plan your visit to the CRNRA now!

In our national park, NPF has generously supported many projects over the years, including the Every Kid in the Park Program (now Open Outdoors for Kids) and the first-ever Trail Assessment and Master Plan completed last November. In early April, members of the CPC board attended the Southeast Region Friends Alliance and Partnership Training in the Smokies; the NPF-hosted gathering provided excellent information on ways that friends groups can most effectively support our national parks.

SHARED USE TRAILS PROPOSED

The National Park Service is developing an environmental assessment for the creation of two miles of shared use trails along the Chattahoochee River to connect the Johnson Ferry North Unit with historic Hyde Farm and close a gap to the Silver Comet Trail. An environmental assessment scoping newsletter can be found here. Written comments can be sent by May 2, 2019 to Chattahoochee River NRA, 1978 Island Ford Parkway, Sandy Springs, GA 30350. Attention: Erich Melville.

Indian Ridge Hike, East Palisades– Sun, April 28 (9-2pm) This moderately strenuous hike is a special opportunity to explore the East Palisades Unit of the CRNRA with Ranger JerryHightower and the Georgia Botanical Society. Contact Jerry at 770-206-0338 orjerryhightower.chat@gmail.com for details.

Frog Frolics at Sibley Pond – Fri, May 3 (8-10pm) Enjoy a frog-filled spring evening for all ages with a leisurely stroll around Sibley Pond in the Sope Creek Unit led by Ranger Jerry Hightower. Reservations required at 678-538-1200.

REI Chattahoochee River Kayak Series – May 19-Sept 1. Join REI on kayak tours in the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, designated the first National Water Trail in 2012. Details and registration here.

As a member, you can help us achieve our vision of an inspiredand thriving community of support for the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area.Click here to join!

Chattahoochee Parks Conservancy Inc. is proud to support our Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, a unit of the national park system managed by the National Park Service. Visit our website at www.chattahoocheeparks.org.